Rug shampoo apparatus



Sept. 6, 1960 s. D. HULSH RUG SHAMPOO APPARATUS 3 Sheets$heet 1 FiledFeb. 20, 1959 INVENTOR. SHELD N DHHD HULSH BY fi HTTORIUEY Sept. 6, 1960s. D. HULSH 2,951,256

RUG SHAMPOO APPARATUS Filed Feb. 20, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

5HELD N 0mm HULSH ATTORNEY Sept. 6, 1960 s. D. HULSH 6 RUG SHAMPOOAPPARATUS Filed Feb. 20, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 googogogogog$o$ 0C 0 O OO O INVENTOR.

6HELDON DAWD HULSH HTTORNEV RUG SHAMPOO APPARATUS Sheldon David Hulsll,530 Park Ave, New York, NY. Filed Feb. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 794,631

6 Claims. (Cl. 1'5--124) This invention relates to rug shampooapparatus, and more particularly to apparatus which generates a cleaningfoam from a foam-forming liquid and applies the foam to the rug which isto be cleaned.

In the past many types of rug shampoo apparatus have been known whichsuffer from one or more defects insofar as ease of use, efiiciency ofoperation, and the avoidance of carpet wetting are concerned. Moreover,known types of rug shampoo apparatus have been bulky and heavy andthereby rendered generally unsuitable for home use by the housewife.Accordingly, it is a primary object of my invention to provide a novelrug shampoo apparatus which is physically compact, light in weight, andrelatively inexpensive as compared to known types of pug shampooapparatus.

Another important object of my invention is to provide a novel rugshampoo apparatus which converts a foam-forming solution into arelatively dry foam and applies the latter directly to the surface to becleaned, thereby avoiding the highly undesirable situation in which awet cleaning agent is applied to the rug.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a rug shampoo apparatuscontaining a minimum number of parts, being easily cleanable, simple tooperate, and having a long useful life expectancy.

The foregoing and other objects of my invention will become apparentfrom a careful reading of the following specification when taken invconjunction with the appended drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of the rug shampoo apparatus according tomy invention and shows a foamforming solution storage tank with anunderlying roller.

and brushes disposed to the front and rear of the latter;

Figure 2 is a side sectional view taken along the lines 2--2 of Figure 1and illustrating the major internal constructional details of the rugshampoo apparatus;

Figure 3 is a fragmented view illustrating the manner of connecting thevalve stem to the valve operating handle;

Figure 4 is a top view of the rug shampoo apparatus with the tankremoved to show the valve seat communicating with the underlyingmanifold, the upper wall of the latter being partially broken away toreveal the manifold distributing ports;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the rug shampoo apparatus as seen whenviewed along the lines 5-5 of Fig ure 2;

Figure 6 is a bottom view of the rug shampoo apparat-us with the rollerpartially fragmented away to show the manifold ports which communicatewith the roller surface;

Figure 7 illustrates the sectional view taken through the valve stem andvalve seat upwardly projecting fingers as viewed along the lines 7-7 ofFigure 2;

Figure 8 illustrates partly in section and partly in elevation the tankclosure cap as viewed along the lines 88 of Figure 9;

Figure 9 illustrates a plan view of the rug shampoo apparatus whenviewed along the lines 9-9 of Figure 2.

In the several figures, like elements are denoted by like referencenumerals.

Turning now to an examination of the figures, and primarily to Figures 1and 2, it will be seen that the rug shampoo apparatus according to myinvention consists of three main functional portions. These portions arethe storage tank 20, the foam-roller assembly 40, and the brushes 66disposed to the front and rear of the roller assembly 40 and mounted tothe underside of the tank assembly 20. Considering first the tankassembly 20, this is seen to comprise a main housing portion 21 seatedupon and sealed about its lower periphery to a base section 22, to forma storage enclosure 23 for containing the foam-forming solution which isfed to the foam-forming roller assembly 4% in the manner subsequently tobe described. As illustrated, the main housing portion 21, and the baseportion 22 are each unitarily formed, as for example from moldedplastic, but may be fabricated in any convenient manner to provide aliquid-tight storage chamber 23.

Disposed within the main housing portion 21 but isolater from the liquidstorage chamber 23 is a manifold chamber 24. The manifold chamber 24 isdefined by a member 25 which extends across the interior width of thetank 26 and which is seated upon and sealed to the underlying uppersurface of the tank base section 22. A series of laterally spaced holes26 which extend through the base member 22 and which are sealed off fromthe main tank chamber 23 by the member 25 provide communication betweenthe manifold chamber 24 and the surface of the underlying roller 41. Themanifold-chamber forming-member 25 and the plurality of apertures 26 mayalso be seen in the illustrations of-Figures 4 and 5.

In order to transmit and control the flow of the liquid cleaning agentwhich is stored in the main chamber 23 to the roller 41 through themanifold 24, there is provided a conical valve seat cut through theupper wall of the member 25 which provides communication between themain storage chamber 23 and the manifold chamber 24. A fluted valve stem28 fitted with a conical lower end 29 complementally shaped to fitsnugly within the conical seat 27 fashioned in the manifold member 25extends from its bottom end at the manifold member 25 upwardly andthrough the top wall of the main body portion 21 of the tank portion 20and terminates' exteriorly of the tank in a valve regulating handle 30.The valve stem 2% is spirally threaded as at $1 to engage the threads 32formed in the top tank wall where the valve stem 23 passes through thelatter. By means of the handle 30 and threads 31 and 32 the valve' stem28 may be rotatably advanced or retracted to thereby cause the conicalend 29 to firmly seat in the conical seat 27 of the member 25 oralternatively to provide any desired clearance therebetween.

When the cone 29 is fully seated, the valve is shut and the liquidcleaning agent stored in the chamber 23 may not pass therethrough to themanifold chamber 24, and hence is prevented from being applied to theroller 41 through the manifold ports 26. When, however, the valve isopened by rotation of the knob 30 to provide a clearance between thecone 29 and its seat 27, the liquid cleaning agent stored within thechamber 23 may pass between the cone and seat into the manifold chamber24 and hence to the roller 41 through apertures 26. The rate of flow ofthe cleaning agent from the main storage chamber 23 to the manifoldchamber 24 is of course controlled by the degree of clearance betweenthe cone 29 and the seat 27, and hence is controlled by the degree ofrotation of the valve handle 30. In order to assist in seating the valvecone 29 into the seat 27 when the valve stem 28 has been removed fromthe tank for one reason or another, the manifold member 25 is providedwith a plurality of upwardly extending guide fingers 33 disposed aboutthe conical seat 27 on a circle whose axis is co-axial with the conicalaxis of the seat. In those cases where it is not feasible to unitarilyform the valve stem 28 and control handle 30, the valve stem 28 may besocketed as at 34 in Figure 3 and the handle stem 50 may be seatedtherewithin in non-rotatable fashion by employing a spline 35 and abonding agent. As in the case of the tank parts 21 and 22, the manifoldmember 25 and valve assembly may also be formed of molded plastic parts.

Before turning to an examination of the roller assembly 40 it should benoted that the base member 22 of the tank 20 is formed with a ribbedcentral section 36 extending substantially the width of the base member22 and formed along the arc of a circle disposed in overlying engagementwith a portion of the cylindrical surface of the roller 41. This centralsection 36 is formed with a plurality of ribs 37 which engage thesurface of the roller 41 and provide a washboard or corrugated type ofsurface. When, during operation, the liquid cleaning agent passesdownward through the manifold apertures 26 and onto the surface of theroller 41, it is seen that the cleaning fluid can not run down onto theunderlying carpet but is trapped between the ribs 37 on either side ofthe apertures 26 and the roller itself. Hence, even when the rugcleaning apparatus is not being rolled across a carpet, the carpet doesnot become soaked with the cleaning fluid. When now the rug shampooapparatus is rolled forward or back, the cleaning liquid in and on thesurface of the roller 41 is mechanically agitated into a relatively dryfoam as the roller mechanically rubs past the ribs 37. Of course, thecleaning liquid in such case is continuously applied to the roller 41through the manifold apertures 26 and a continuous supply of foam isgenerated and carried downward by the roller for application to theunderlying carpet. The rate of foam generation is of course controlledby the rotational speed of the roller 41 and the rate at which thecleaning liquid is permitted to pass from the storage chamber 23 throughthe valve and into the manifold chamber 24, this flow rate being ofcourse controlled by rotation of the regulating handle 30 secured to thevalve stem 28.

Turn now to an examination of the roller assembly 40, the details ofwhich may be best seen in the showing of Figure 5. The roller assembly40 is seen to consist of six parts, a roller 41, a hollow axle 42, apair of hubs 43 disposed at opposite ends of the roller 41, and a pairof bolts 44 threadedly engaged with the hubs 43. The roller 41 may bemade of sponge or foam rubber or any other suitable absorbent substance,and the axle 42, hubs 43 and bolts 44 may be fashioned from moldedplastic or metal. The roller assembly 40 is assembled by first slippingthe axle 42 into an axially extending hole through the roller 41, theaxially extending hole being of sufliciently small diameter to provide asnug fit with the axle 42. The hubs 43 are then assembled into the axleand roller structure by projecting the hub bosses 45 into the open endsof the axle 42 until the axle end surfaces abut the hub shoulders 46.The roller assembly 40 is then positioned as shown in Figure and thesecuring bolts 44 are projected through holes 37 located in thedepending side flanges 39 which are shown as unitarily formed with thebottom section 22 of the tank 20. The ends 47 of the bolts 44 are thenthreadedly engaged with the inside of the outwardly extending axiallyaligned axle continuation portions 48 of the hubs 43. It should be notedthat the shanks of the bolts 44 are of smaller diameter than the holes38 in the depending flanges 39 through which the bolt shank passes, sothat the bolt and hence the entire roller assembly is freely rotatablewithin the holes 38. In operation, the roller 41, axle 42, hubs 43, andbolts 44 rotate as a unit.

Turning now to Figures 6 and 2 for details of the third functionalportion of the rug shampoo apparatus, namely the brush assemblies 60, itis seen that each brush assembly 60 includes a base 61 having settherein and projected downwardly a plurality of bristles or teeth 62.The base member 61 and the bristles or teeth 62 may be made in anyconvenient fashion. While it has been found in practice that it ispossible to mold the brush assembly 60 unitarily so that the base 61 andthe teeth are unitarily formed, as for example from polyethyleneplastic, this assembly may be just as readily formed of a separate basemember 61 having bristles or teeth 62 set therein. Moreover it may befound desirable to form one of the assemblies, for example the frontassembly, with spaced relatively-stiff comb-like teeth or fingers, whileforming the other assembly with tufts of finer and somewhat moreflexible bristles arranged with the tufts in such closely associatedrelation that the bristles thereof form in effect a brush extendingcompletely across the unit immediately to the rear of the roller 41. Insuch a case the comb-like stiffer teeth or fingers accomplish deepcleaning whereas the softer tufted brushing bristles provide bettersurface cleaning and also groom the rug or carpet by brushing out anyfurrows which may tend to be formed by thestiif fingers. Each of thebrush assemblies 6%] is secured to the bottom section 22 of the 'tank 20in the manner illustrated by a plurality of screws or machine bolts 63.As best seen in the view of Figure 2 the teeth 62 of the brushassemblies 60 extend downwardly from the base 22 of the tank 20 but stopshort of engagement with the carpet surface 70.

In operation, the roller may be moved back and forth generating foam andapplying it to the underlying carpet while maintaining the brushbristles 62 out of contact with the carpet. When sufficient foam hasbeen applied to the carpet the brush assemblies may be brought intocontact therewith by tilting the operating handle either forward orbackward to respectively engage the front or rear brush with the carpetthereby providing a brushing or combing action which works the foamsubstantially into the nap to provide maximum cleaning elficiency.Alternatively, either or both of the brushes may be engaged with thecarpet simultaneously with the generation and application of foam byeither tilting the handle as aforedescribed or bearing down on thehandle to compress the sponge roller on its undersurface and therebylower the brushes into contact with the carpet.

Turning now to Figure 8 there is seen a detail of the tank closure capwhich is secured to the top wall of the tank portion 20 by an integrallyformed button 81 projected through a hole 82 in the tank top wall. Theclosure cap 80 is also formed with an inwardly projecting lip 83 whichlocks under an outwardly projecting circumferentially extending lip 84formed at the top of the tank filling opening 85. As in the case of theother parts, the tank closure cap 80 may be formed of a plastic materialhaving a flexible portion 86 bridging between the closure portion of thecap and the fastening button. Finally, Figure 2 illustrates the mannerin which a conventional type of handle may be readily secured to the rugshampoo apparatus for operation thereof. As shown, a threaded socket 87is molded with the base section 22 of the tank 20, and a support clip 88is molded onto the back wall of the main portion 21 of the tank 20.Assembly of the handle 89 to the tank 20 is carried out by projectingthe threaded end of the handle downward through the support clip 88 andinto threaded engagement with the socket 87.

Having now described my invention, it will be understood that variouschanges and modifications will naturally occur from time to time tothose persons normally skilled in the art without departing from theessential spirit or scope of my invention, and it is therefore intendedto claim the same broadly as well as specifically as indicated by theappended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. In a rug shampooing apparatus, the combination comprising, a chamberfor storing a foam-forming solution, a manifold chamber having a bottomwall the external surface of which is transversely curved, valve meansconnecting said storage chamber with said manifold chamber and effectiveto control the rate of flow of foam-forming solution therebetween, arotatable cylindrical roller having a pliant, solution-absorbent surfacedirectly underlying said manifold chamber, the cylindrical surface ofsaid roller being curved in correspondence with the transverse curvatureof and in surface engagement with the curved external surface of themanifold chamber bottom wall, said manifold chamber bottom wall beingapertured within the area of its surface engagement with said roller toprovide free communication between the interior of said manifold chamberand the surface of said roller so that foam-forming solution may passdirectly to the roller surface from the manifold chamber while theroller surface provides a closure which prevents the foamformingsolution from flowing freely out of the manifold chamber and down ontothe surface underlying said roller, the said curved external surface ofthe manifold chamber bottom wall being formed to provide a plurality oflaterally spaced parallel ridges having the long dimension of each ridgeoriented transversely to the rotational plane of said roller with theridge crests in contact with the roller surface, whereby foam-formingsolution applied to the roller surface from the manifold chamber isfrothed into a foam as it is rubbed transversely across the ridges dueto the roller rotation.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said manifold chamberbottom wall is apertured in the trough between a pair of said laterallyspaced parallel ridges formed on the curved external surface thereof.

3. In a rug shampooing apparatus, the combination comprising, a chamberfor storing a foam-forming solution, a manifold chamber having a bottomwall the external surface of which is transversely curved, valve meansconnecting said storage chamber with said manifold chamber and effectiveto control the rate of flow of foam-forming solution therebetween, arotatable cylindrical roller having a pliant, solution-absorbent surfacedirectly underlying said manifold chamber, the cylindrical surface ofsaid roller being curved in correspondence with the transverse curvatureof and in surface engagement with the curved external surface of themanifold chamber bottom wall, said manifold chamber bottom wall beingapertured within the area of its surface engagement with said roller toprovide free communication between the interior of said manifold chamberand the surface of said roller so that foam-forming solution may passdirectly to the roller surface from the manifold chamber while theroller surface provides a closure which prevents the foam-formingsolution from flowing freely out of the manifold chamber and down ontothe surface underlying said roller, the said curved external surface ofthe manifold chamber bottom wall being formed to provide a plurality ofspaced projections in contact with and adapted to exert a squeezingaction upon the pliant surface of said roller upon rotation thereof, tothereby froth into foam the foam solution applied to said rollersurface.

4. The combination according to claim 3, wherein said valve means is amanually operable valve continuously adjustable between a fully closedcondition and a preselected maximally open condition, said valve atleast partially controlling the rate of transfer of foam-formingsolution from said solution-storing chamber to said manifold chamberwhen said valve is open.

5. The combination according to claim 3 further including massagingmeans for working the foam into the surface underlying said roller meanswhen the roller means has deposited the foam upon such structure.

6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein said massaging meanscomprise a pair of brushes, one of said brushes being positioned inadvance of said roller means and the other being positioned to the rearthereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,111,697 Lichter Sept. 22, 1914 1,550,052 Anderson Aug. 18, 19251,949,659 Ritter Mar. 6, 1934 2,152,272 Ombrello Mar. 28, 1939 2,250,692Wise July 29, 1941 2,730,738 Humes Jan. 17, 1956

